Google, Amazon, Microsoft image AI shows gender bias, labelling women by appearance and men by profession

A study by US and European researchers found that Google, Amazon, and Microsoft's image recognition services applied three times as many appearance-related labels to photos of women as to men. The top labels for men were 'official' and 'businessperson', while for women they were 'smile' and 'chin'. Google acknowledged the issue and had previously switched off gender detection, but tests by WIRED suggested the bias persisted. The researchers warn that such biased AI could obscure women professionals and create a false image of reality.

Date it happened

2020-11-14

Organisation involved

Google, Amazon, Microsoft

Product, system or model

Google Cloud Vision, Amazon Rekognition, Microsoft image recognition service

This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.